Trace elements, heavy metals and vitamins in Egyptian school children with iron deficiency anemia

Abstract Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a wide spread syndrome among children especially in the developing countries due to malnutrition, infection or inflammation. The aim of our study was to determine the concentrations of serum trace elements as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), and selenium (Se) in IDA Egyptian school children. The work was extended to estimate the concentration of heavy metals; lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) as well as the concentrations of vitamin A and D. This cross sectional study was performed on 120 children (age 6–12 years). Iron deficiency anemia was observed in 90 individuals (32 male and 58 female). Thirty healthy children (without anemia) were classified as control. There were lower concentrations (p < 0.001) in circulating Fe, Mg, Se and vitamins A and D in subjects with IDA as compared to the control group, while Cu concentrations were higher (p < 0.001). The concentrations of lead and cadmium were significantly (p < 0.0001) higher in IDA patients than controls. Hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), red blood cell (RBC) and ferritin concentrations in subjects with IDA were significantly lower than control. Significant degrees of correlations between these hematological indices and the selected elements were observed as well as between these elements with each other. According to the anthropometric measurements, the children with IDA were underweight and undergo a stage of stunting and wasting. In conclusion, 82% of the IDA children suffered from at least two elements deficiencies. Zinc, Fe, Mg, Se and vitamins A and D were lower while Pb and Cd were higher in school children with IDA as compared with controls. Iron deficiency was associated with high lead concentration, while Cu was not associated with iron deficiency concentration.